Dates and Distractions
by bookdiva
Summary: Bamie02, EmmyLou74, and I collaborated (sorta) on this one idea: In 5x02, when Kensi and Nell are talking about going on that groupster date… what was the date like? We each wrote what we thought… The chapter will be named after the author who wrote it! Please enjoy these three versions of the story, and if you have time, leave a review for each author! ENJOY!
1. Bamie02

She shouldn't have come.

How the hell she managed to let Nell and Rose talk her into this she will never know. Three guys, three girls, one night of hanging out. And the possibility of three times the rejection, she thought to herself. Rose had joined some kind of groupster dating thing and had asked if them if they would go with her. So, here she was, dressed up and waiting with Nell and Rose to meet Alex, Jesse and Mike. They had agreed to meet at one of the local bars first. Rose had suggested they grab something to eat first and for that Kensi was glad.

She watched as what she presumed were their dates for the evening come walking up. They weren't bad looking, handsome even. She looked around and noticed that most of the ladies, single and taken, were watching the men as they walked over. All three were about the same height, 6 foot or so and all of them looked like the visited the gym regularly.

Alex introduced himself first. He had brown hair, green eyes and was clean shaven. Mike was next, with his short blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Jesse was the last to come up, sporting almost black hair and brown eyes. Making the introductions, they all grabbed their drinks and went to find a table.

She half listened to the conversation around her, checking her phone for the third time in 10 minutes, hoping beyond reason Deeks had texted her. Seeing no new messages, she sighed.

"Everything okay? You keep checking your phone," Alex asked.

With a forced smile, she shook her head. "No, yeah, I'm fine. Everything is fine." No, everything was NOT fine. Her partner, her best friend, was ignoring her. Nell heard her response and raised her eyebrow at her but stayed silent.

She kept replaying that night in the bullpen, when he had finally communicated something real, telling her she was the place he went to in his head to block out the pain. Seeing the look on his face as he told her he needed to get away from everything. And everyone. She had desperately wanted to tell him that it meant everything to her that she was able to help him. But before she could respond, Sam and Callen had walked in. They had gone out for drinks that night, but Deeks had been quiet, despondent. This was not the man she knew, but she would give anything to help him.

How was she supposed to help him if he didn't return her calls? Answer her texts? She had even gotten him a cronut, putting it on his doorstep the night before. She had been hoping he would answer the door when she had knocked, but after 5 minutes of standing there, she knew it wasn't going to happen. So she had left the bag with the cronut there for him.

Nell coughed loudly, looking at her pointedly, bringing her back to reality. Rose was laughing at a joke Jesse was telling.

"Kensi and I are going to get another round. Anyone else need anything?" Rose raised her hand, indicating one more. The guys all said they were good.

"Kens, I know you don't want to be here, but we are doing this for Rose, so she can get out and actually meet people. Please, try and look like you are having a good time." Nell smiled a little. She knew where her friends thoughts were at, and she couldn't imagine being in that position with Eric. Nell had no interest whatsoever in the three guys with them, and just like she told Kensi, they were just here helping out a friend. But she was trying to be polite.

"Well, Rose sure looks like she's having a good time" Kensi said. Smiling and looking over at their friend, noticing the blush on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eye from the attention, she knew she owed it to them to at least pretend. And come on, if she was good at one thing, it was pretending.

Grabbing the beers and walking back to the table, she could hear Mike say something about her being quiet and distracted. Rose just laughed a little, telling them Kensi was probably just thinking about the new art deco piece that was supposed to be arriving soon. Seriously, why did she try and keep up this art curator alias? She had zero knowledge about anything. She couldn't tell you the difference between a Monet and Michelangelo if her life depended on it. She's pretty sure someone did something with water lilies.

They had agreed before meeting the guys that they were not going to know their real occupations. That was a given with Nell and Kensi, but they all felt it was a good idea for Rose to make something up as well. Nell went with a kindergarten teacher, Rose was a nurse and Kensi, without thinking, had gone with her most hated job.

Nell and Kensi sat back down, smiling. She looked over at Jesse. "So, what do you do?"

As he started telling her about his construction business, she felt her phone vibrate. She tried nonchalantly to check it, but in her haste to look, she knocked her beer over. Feeling the blush on her cheeks, and noticing the message was NOT from Deeks, she cleaned up the mess.

"God Jesse, I am so sorry. I am not usually this jumpy or such a klutz. My boss told me to be ready to go if the new piece came in early. Guess I am just anxious to see it."

She could tell that he wasn't buying it, and she didn't blame him. The distracted looks, constantly checking her phone, she wouldn't have bought it either. Nell and Rose both gave her small smiles, appreciating that she was trying, but not blaming her at all for her lack of interest.

Making a grand gesture of putting the phone in her purse and promising no more distractions, the group decided to go walk down the boardwalk. She made a more conscious effort to be her funny, flirty first date self, but she couldn't help the way the ocean air reminded her of someone she told herself not think of anymore tonight. If he would just answer the phone, let her know he was still alive, that's all she needed. She needed to know he was okay, and she couldn't do that if he was ignoring her.

Nell looped their arms together and leaned in. "Just a couple more hours, Blye, and then you are home free." Kensi put a smile on her face and tried talking to Alex.

"You any good at these games?" She nodded her head towards the booths that lined up and down the boardwalk, enticing patrons to try their hands. Alex rubbed his hands together and laughed. "I don't know, let's see."

The group headed over to the duck shooting booth. Kensi and Alex lined up, getting ready for the game to start. Rose and Nell knew she would win this one hands down, but kept their thoughts to themselves.

"Don't worry princess, I'll take it easy on you." Nell's head snapped up with a worried glance and looked over at Kensi to see how she was going to react to that.

Kensi's eyes narrowed dangerously for half a second. Remembering quickly where she was and with who, and knowing these guys wouldn't understand the reason why no one else but a certain blue eyed cop could call her that and get away with it, she schooled her features and looked him in the eye.

"I wouldn't, if I were you." Alex had a confused look on his face and missed the go signal.

Quickly grabbing the gun, Kensi made every shot she went for. Alex, on the other hand, missed at least half of the ducks. When the horn sounded, signaling the end of the game, she picked out a stuffed animal and handed it to Alex.

"Where…how…what just happened?" The look on Alex's face was priceless. Rose and Nell were busy taking drinks to keep from laughing and Kensi just smiled.

"Just something I picked up here and there." And with that, she and the girls went to get some ice cream. Mike had asked her if she was going to share it with him, but she had managed a strangled laugh and then managed to stuff her face with the rest it, making it apparent that sharing was not an option.

The rest of the night went without incident. They had walked some more. Whenever her mind started to wander too far off, Nell would gently nudge her and bring her back to the present. The rest of the group had decided to try their hands at the games, but Kensi had just watched.

She made a mental note to bring Deeks here one day. He would enjoy the noise, the games. He would understand her competitive nature and even when he lost, his pouts would be in good fun. She might even let him win a few. But the ice cream, she was definitely not sharing. Not that he'd be stupid enough to try and share it. He would get another flavor she loved, knowing she would end up eating at least half of it, too.

As the night drew to an end, everyone exchanged numbers. She wasn't expecting anything from it, knowing she had been off her game but not really caring. She hoped that Rose heard from one of them though. They weren't bad guys at all, and had the circumstances been different, she would have enjoyed the night.

Getting in her car, she tried calling Deeks again, not surprised when she heard the voicemail come on.

"Hey. It's me. Again. Just ah…just thought I'd call and see how you were. You wouldn't believe what Nell got me to do tonight. Ok, well, if you need anything, you know, someone to talk to, or not talk, you know I am here. I uh…I guess I will talk to you later. Bye."

She threw the phone into the passenger seat. Taking the route home that would pass by his place, she pulled in. She walked up the steps to his apartment and saw the cronut, right where she had left it the night before. She contemplated knocking on the door, demanding he answer, but she decided against it. Instead, she laid her head on the door and said to herself. "I'm right here Deeks. I'm not going anywhere. And one of these days, you will realize that."

Little did she know, Deeks had been looking out the window when she pulled up. He stood at the door, waiting for her to knock. When he didn't hear it, he looked out the peep hole and saw her staring at the door, and then step towards it. She had on a black dress and heels with her hair down, wavy. His favorite. He wondered for a second if she had just gotten done with a date. He waited for the knock, but heard a soft thud instead. Putting his forehead on the door, he heard the words she had spoken.

He wanted to open the door, to gather her in his arms, ask her to help keep the nightmares at bay. Find out if she knew how to get his mind to stop going into overdrive every time he thought about closing his eyes. But he didn't, he couldn't bring her down with him. Soon, he thought to himself, soon he might be able to open the door when the knock came, but not tonight. So he waited until he heard her walk away and watched her tail lights fade into the night before putting his headphones back on and doing whatever he could think of to turn off his mind. Little did he know, his sleep remedy had just driven away.


	2. EmmyLou74

"How did I let you drag me into this?" Kensi whispered to Nell as they followed Rose through the car park.

"I have my ways." Nell cast her a sideward glance.

"Yeah I think Hetty has been training you in the art of persuasion."

Nell smiled mysteriously.

"I just want my DVR player, my ice cream... " Kensi's voice faltered. _And my partner. I want my partner._

Nell's face softened slightly. "You need to get out." She looped her arm in Kensi's. "Besides this is for Rose, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah." Kensi grumbled as they entered the bar.

"Thanks so much for this." Rose was waiting for them. "I haven't been on a date in so long. It means a lot that you guys agreed to this."

"It's girls night!" Nell looked around excitedly. Kensi smiled wryly and shot her a questioning look.

"Well, kinda. It's three girls meeting three guys. Ok, it's a group date. Whatever..." She trailed off. "Oh, I think I see them."

Rose let out a squeak which made Kensi snorted with laughter. Nell rolled her eyes "This should be interesting." She joked as she led the way to the table.

Kensi's faint smile dropped as she begrudgingly followed her friends. The last time she had been at this particular bar had been with the guys. before Deeks had kissed her and everything had gone to hell. He had gone through hell...

The sound of her own name snapped her from her from delving any further into her dark thoughts.

"Kensi, this is Jesse, Alex and Doug."

"Hey Kensi, nice to meet you." Jesse held out his hand. Kensi forced a smile and took it. She took a seat beside Nell and Doug sat across from her, a wide grin on his face.

"It's nice to finally meet you guys" Nell smiled charmingly.

Kensi resisted a smirk. Deeks thought he was charming. She could picture his bright smile and his twinkling blue eyes as he called her "Darling" in that surfer drawl of his. So he was kinda charming. No, she knew he was even though she would probably never admit that to him. If he ever answered her calls.

It had been weeks since she had last seen or spoken to him. If he would just answer his phone ...

"Kensi... Kensi.." She looked up to find everybody looking at her.

"Sorry long day.." She offered as an excuse. It was true everyday was a long day without her partner.

"What did I miss?" She asked.

_"Seriously, Kens, I hope this isn't your A game."_

Kensi realised hearing your missing partner's voice in your head was not normal but lately it seemed her brain had decided that it too missed Deeks' voice. She smiled to herself which seemed to encourage Jesse.

He smiled. "So you guys work all work together?"

Nell elbowed her. Was that meant to encourage her? Fine she could do this. She was the queen of first dates. Well, lately she was the queen of her couch, sitting upon her throne passing judgment on the contestants of the new season of America's Next Top Model.

_"Yeah, and that is probably how this Deeks comedy corner opened."_

"Yeah. We all work together." What? You can do better. Say something else. "It's fun..."

"At the _morgue_?" The guy across from Rose asked his eyebrows raised. Nell looked at Kensi, uh oh. She really did have that Gorgon stare going on.

"Eh.." Rose began. "Well, you see..."

"No, erm Nell and I work in a funeral home. That's how we meet Rose."

Oh god, what was she saying? She was normally so good at this lying about her job part and coming up more... normal alternatives.

Kensi could feel her Nell's eyes burning into her. She could also hear imaginary Deeks laughing.

_"This is priceless. From now on I'm coming on all your dates."_

"I'd say that's interesting?" Jesse asked looking politely doubtful. "You know with the bodies and that..."

Everyone was still looking at Kensi.

"Yeah, well it's not fun.." She scrunched up her nose. "Cause that would be weird, you know cause we work with dead people." Under the table she felt Nell stand on her toe. Kensi stopped talking and laughed awkwardly.

"Right..." Alex turned his attention back to Rose.

Kensi avoided looking at Nell. God, she shouldn't be here. Her eyes swept the bar and hand glanced over her phone in her pocket.

"So Kensi," Jesse caught her attention. She looked back at him.

"What is it that you do?' Kensi blurted out.

_"That was smooth , princess."_

"Well, I work in an IT firm with Doug..."

For the first time since entering the bar she took a proper look at him, something the special agent in Kensi would have done when she first entered the bar. But things were a little mixed up at the moment. He had brown eyes, short brown hair and she had to admit a nice smile. He was handsome but he wasn't really her type. Only recently she had admitted to herself that her type was shaggy blonde hair, laughing ocean blue eyes and a wide smile that made her heart stop.

She would just get through this evening. Then she could go home and ring him. Again. This was for Rose... and maybe her sanity.

"... and then Alex moved in." He finished. Wait, what? Uh oh.

"Cool." She smiled brightly to cover her lack of attention. Jesse hadn't seemed to have noticed.

"So maybe I could get you a drink?' He motioned to the bar. "You look like a Cosmopolitan kinda girl." He grinned.

For a moment she felt like she couldn't breath.

"Mojito, actually." It came out more harsh than she intended.

_"Huh, what a goof. I knew that."_

Jesse seemed taken back by her tone. She smiled apologetically.

"Mojito it is." He made to get up.

"Uh no thanks, I'm driving." She saw disappointment flash his eyes. It made her think of another set of eyes, set in a beaten and bloody face. She stood abruptly.

"If... if you'd excuse me for a minute." Kensi stuttered. Rose looked concerned. Nell shot her a funny look but then she saw Kensi's face.

"So Jesse, Doug says you guys are into video games? She said chirpily. Kensi sighed in relief as Nell took the attention from her and made her way to the restroom. Once inside the stall, she locked the door and pulled the lid down. She sat on the toilet with her head between her knees and her hands in her hair.

_"That's not dramatic at all, Kens. I might say it's a touch cliche. What's next escape through the open window?"_

She laughed out loud but it came out a sob. Kensi put her hand over her mouth. She took a deep breath as she retrieved her phone from her pocket. She hit the last number dialed. It rang twice.

"Hey, it's Marty. Gone surfin'. Leave a message." She hung up and wiped the lone tear that has escaped. She couldn't do this anymore. Enough was enough. Tomorrow after work she would pick his lock, break down his door, she would do whatever she had to do. She was getting her partner back.

_"That's my girl." _


	3. bookdiva

Kensi sighed as she looked around her bedroom. For a moment, she smiled as she thought of the comment her partner would make about all the clothes on the floor. As quickly as the smile reached her face, however, it vanished.

She summoned up a weak scowl.

_After all, this mess is _his_ fault,_ she grumbled internally. _He's the reason I can't wear anything. _

She'd tried on a blue sequin tank top, but one look into the mirror, and the shirt reminded her of the way his eyes used to dance while they bantered….

That shirt was quickly discarded onto the floor.

The next thing she'd tried on was a button up blouse that she'd worn undercover. She smiled as she remembered when the lady got _fresh_ with the goods, and she could still feel Deeks's strong shoulders from when she'd locked him into a headlock.

Again, that shirt was quickly discarded onto the floor.

Her third try didn't go much better. And the fourth, and the fifth, and so on.

She was still staring at the mountain of clothes when her phone beeped. It was a text from Nell.

_**I'm here. **_

_Shit! _Kensi thought. She grabbed a plain black t-shirt that she'd just bought, hoping against hope that she could get through the date without remembering the feel of his lips on hers… the surprise and then the passion that had spread throughout her body in those few, precious seconds when everything had made sense.

_Before_ she'd run away. _Before_ she'd left her partner standing there. _Before_ he was taken. _Before_ he was tortured. _Before_… Just _before_…

_No! _she commanded herself, stopping to look into the mirror. She still had dark circles under her eyes that no amount of cover up could fully conceal. Stress and nightmares were getting to her.

_If they're getting to me, how bad is it for him? _she wondered automatically as she glanced down at her phone.

But she didn't know how he was, because she hadn't talked to him since their failed team-bonding-over-drinks night. While it wasn't for lack of trying, she still couldn't help feeling guilty about the lack of communication.

She winced at even thinking that word.

_"How's that for communication?"_

His words haunted her now. In sleep, in wakefulness. Every second of every day.

A knock at her door brought her out of her thoughts. For one wild second, she thought it must be Deeks, coming over for their usual Sunday night movie and beers.

It only took her a second to remember that it wasn't Deeks—and it hadn't been Deeks for a long month and a half—it was Nell. Here to pick her up for their triple date with Rose and some guys.

She pushed down any more feelings of guilt at the thought of going out with other guys, and opened her door. Nell stood before her in a cute, off the shoulder top, skinny jeans, and slight wedge heels. Kensi glanced down at her own casual attire and winced.

_It's the best I could do on short notice,_ she told herself. She internally rolled her eyes, not even able to convince herself.

"Sorry Nell," she said in place of greeting. "I just have to grab my purse and we can go."

Nell's eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's what you're wearing?" the shorter woman asked.

Kensi just winced and nodded, walking into the living room to find her purse.

"Okay, what happened in here?" Nell's voice came from down the hall. She'd wandered down the hallway into Kensi's bedroom and was staring at the mountain of clothes.

"I, uh, couldn't decide what to wear…" Kensi said awkwardly. Her hand came up to her neck in a nervous tick she'd picked up from her partner, but she quickly snatched it down before Nell turned around.

"You tried on _this_," she said, holding up the blue tank top that Kensi had tried on first, "and still decided to wear _that_ instead?"

Her tone was incredulous, and Kensi began to panic. How could she possibly explain to Nell why she couldn't wear that shirt?

"I, uh… It reminded me of, er—" she stammered. "I just remembered that I bought it for… something else… specifically…." she mumbled, avoiding Nell's eyes.

When she finally made eye contact with a confused Nell, she sighed and pleaded silently with her eyes for her to let the matter drop.

It took a moment, but Nell's eyes flashed in understanding. Without saying a word, she tossed the tank top back into the pile and crossed out of the bedroom. Kensi followed her to the door gratefully.

"You're lucky," Nell said lightly as they walked down to her car. Her smile didn't fully reach her eyes, but then no one's really had since the Siderov case.

"Why's that?" Kensi replied with a casualness she didn't feel.

"You can pull off that casual,_ I'm-not-trying-but-I-look-hot-anyway_ look."

Kensi knew that Nell made the comment to make her smile, so she did, but it sounded so much like something Deeks would say that it made her heart ache.

"Thanks," she said slowly. "I… think…?"

* * *

"I just think this is going to be _so_ much _fun_!" Rose said from the back seat for what felt like—to Kensi, at least—the hundredth time.

Kensi just clenched her jaw and reminded herself that she was doing this for a friend.

_A very annoying friend who hasn't stopped bouncing around in the back seat in excitement, or talking about dead bodies. _

And dead bodies were the last thing Kensi wanted to talk about, because she saw enough death in her nightmares.

_Don't go there, Kens,_ she told herself sternly. _You're out with friends for the night. You can go a few hours without thinking about De—him. _

Except, well… she wasn't really off to a great start.

"Seriously, Rose," Kensi said, as gently as she could. "Calm down."

"Okay, okay…" Rose said, still chuckling. "So what's that partner of yours think about you coming out with us tonight? I thought you two had a _thing_."

Kensi practically swallowed her own tongue, and Nell jerks the steering wheel slightly.

"What? I—what?" Kensi managed, unable to form a complete sentence.

"I mean, I don't blame you," Rose continued, oblivious to the tension in the front seat. "That man is pretty gorgeous. He has the nicest jaw line I've ever seen."

"Rose!" Nell exclaimed, noticing the homicidal look on Kensi's face.

"No, it's fine, Nell," Kensi ground out, clenching her teeth even harder. She turned around to look at Rose. When their eyes met, Rose's smile faded. "I wouldn't know, because I haven't talked to him in over a month. We had an op go bad and…" she didn't finish—couldn't—so she just trailed off and left the thought open ended.

"So," she continued after a tense silence as the car came to a stop. "I'm here to have some fun with my girls. Think we can do that?"

"Hell, yeah!" Nell said, over-compensating with enthusiasm. Rose smiled as well.

"Let's go meet the guys!"

* * *

The guys really weren't unattractive, but Kensi couldn't think of a single positive thing to say about any of them.

Alex—her date for the evening—was talking about himself.

He went to college and had a B.A. in business.

_Deeks has a law degree._

He had light brown hair.

_Deeks's golden locks are softer. And the way they fall into his eyes, and he whips his head back… _

Alex's eyes were a dark grey.

_Grey is so boring._ _Now Deeks's baby blues… _there's_ something interesting. The way they dance in the light… or sparkle with amusement when I manage a decent joke… or how serious they get when I tell him I'm fine or we have one of _those_ cases… or how dark they were when he kissed me… _

_Yes,_ she decided. _I definitely like Deeks's eyes much better. _

"Who's Deeks?" Alex's voice finally cut through her fog.

"What?" Kensi spluttered, embarrassed that she'd somehow spoken part of her thoughts aloud.

"You said you liked Deeks's eyes much better," Alex said, looking at her like she was crazy.

Suddenly, Kensi just didn't care anymore. She looked over at Nell and Rose, but they were both busy chatting it up with the other two guys. She smirked and turned her attention back to Alex.

"I do," she said, ignoring the question about who Deeks was.

_Art curators don't have partners,_ she thought wryly. _And at this point, any other explanation is… sketchy. At best. _

"They're so blue, and clear… So honest," she continued at Alex's confused look. "Blue is just an honest color. It's not like grey, for instance. Grey is so… unreliable. It's not black and it's not white. It's not blue."

When she finished her little rant, Alex was again looking at her like she was crazy.

He muttered something that sounded like "not worth it" under his breath, and turned his attention to Rose and Nell. She passed the rest of the evening like that, talking only when she had to, but she really didn't mind. It gave her time to think—time to plan.

_So he's not answering my calls,_ she thought to herself. _Well, fine. Okay. That's never stopped me before. _

And so, sitting there on a date with three other men, Kensi began to plot.

_I think I heard that Yummy Yummy Heart Attack reopened… _

* * *

"Oh my god," Nell said the next day as they walked into OSP. "Emoto-con overload. These guys from last night are kinda driving me nuts."

Kensi leaned over her shoulder to see her screen.

"Which one?" she asked, smiling for her friend's benefit. "Jesse?"

"Alex," Nell said blithely. Kensi's eyebrows raised involuntarily.

_Wasn't Alex supposed to be… my date? _

Not that she cared, or anything.

"What is that? An… ear of corn? A pickle?"

Kensi looked down at the screen and immediately wished she hadn't.

"That actually looks like a… a…"

She was saved from having to say it by Nell's phone meowing.

"Oh my god, here's Jesse," she said, sounding too annoyed for it to be completely genuine. "_Good morning beautiful_. Huh, well good morning to you," she said, typing it out on her phone. "Smiley face."

"You heard from all three?" Kensi couldn't help but ask.

"Haven't you?" Nell asked, genuine surprise crossing her face. Kensi forced a smile that usually fooled everyone but Deeks.

_Maybe my phone is broken,_ she thought to herself.

"Uh, no… my phone is off."

As far as lies go, it was a terrible one. Kensi's phone hadn't been off since Deeks had started to avoid her calls. She quickly glanced away from his empty chair, turning her full attention to her conversation with Nell.

"I mean, who came up with this group-ster thing anyway? You know? I mean, three times the rejection doesn't seem psychologically sound. One on one is bad enough."

"I know," Nell said, smiling understandingly. "But Rose was so excited… and you know, she really needs to get out and meet guys."

"Yeah, that have a pulse," Kensi said quickly. She was disappointed by Nell's reaction.

"It's supposed to be fun. Three guys, three girls… no pressure, no expectations."

_Deeks would've said 'touché', _she couldn't help but think sadly.

"No, I'm sorry… three's a crowd," Kensi continued stubbornly.

Nell's phone interrupted her response, but it was for the best.

_"And you know this from vicarious viewing, or is this something much more first-hand?" _Her absent partner's voice rang in her ears, and she smiled as she thought of the fun banter that would've followed that particular statement.

"Is this a heart or a butt?" Nell's voice again broke Kensi out of her thoughts.

"You know what? Here's an example. Three bears? Burgled. Three little pigs? Houses obliterated. Three blind mice? Tails cut off." Her voice raised as Nell didn't cut in like Deeks would have. "I am telling you, people start killing each other when the equation is three."

_And this has nothing to do with being a third wheel to Callen and Sam for the past week,_ she thought defiantly. _Nothing. At. All._

At Nell's raised eyebrows, Kensi sighed. She was trying to make Nell into Deeks, and it just wasn't working.

"I wonder if Rose got any calls," Nell said, ignoring Kensi's rant. Kensi snorted.

"Yeah, only if one of them dropped dead."

She laughed at her own joke, but Nell didn't have anything wittier to say than, "You're bad."

It wasn't the same.

Eric's whistle came from upstairs.

"Case on deck."

"Yep… here we go," Nell said, turning to walk up the stairs.

Before she followed Nell up to OPS, she glanced down one more time at her phone. But it wasn't Mike or Jesse or Alex who's number she wanted to see flashing on her screen. She sighed and slipped the phone back into her pocket. Staring at it hadn't made it ring before.

* * *

Later that night, laying beside her sleeping partner, Kensi couldn't help but replay his words over in her mind.

_"It's a love story."_

_Right, because _that's_ not vague AT ALL!_

Beside her, her partner tensed, and a thin sheen of sweat was suddenly visible on his forehead.

"Shh… Deeks, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here. It's okay," she murmured softly, reaching her hand over to softly stroke his hair back away from his face. He calmed at her words.

Remembering how he'd drifted off as she'd babbled about Burnt Offerings, she decided to try it again.

"I went out last night," she told him. She smiled when she saw Deeks frown in his sleep. "Don't worry, partner. No one could hold a candle to you. I only went because Rose needed some wing…_women_…" She paused. His face relaxed again as she gathered the courage to continue. When she finally did, her voice came out in barely a whisper.

"I'm still waiting for more of your communication."


	4. Authors' Note

_**AN: For anyone who is confused, let me clear this up: Each chapter is STAND ALONE! That means that it's just three different writers who wrote for the same idea. Kensi only goes on one date, and the three chapters aren't connected whatsoever! **_

_**Hope that clears things up :)**_

_**Blessings,**_

_**bookdiva, EmmyLou74, and Bamie02**_


End file.
